“In this kayak-and-bike duathlon you’ll kick things off kayaking four miles down the Green River, through the Class-V Narrows Section, then ending at a bridge. From there, you’ll jump on a bike for a 26-mile loop, starting with a 1,000-mile climb out of the Green River Gorge, circling through historic downtown Saluda, North Carolina, then finishing back to the bridge where you’ll relax listening to live music and stuffing yourself at the race festival. Located about an hour and a half from Charlotte, this unique race started in 2006 to honor paddler and cyclist Jerry Beckwith, who succumbed to ALS.”

“Competitors in the extreme biathlon begin in Henderson County and must navigate through roughly four miles of class IV-V rapids in the Green River Gorge before transitioning to their bikes for a grueling 26 miles of steep climbing through Polk County.”

“When Jerry Beckwith was asked how he succeeded in winning multiple marathons and triathlons across the Southeast, he answered, “I learned how to suffer.” Every April, at the peak of the spring bloom, a group of kayakers and road bikers gather near Saluda, N.C., to honor Jerry in a race that epitomizes these words.”